Self venting valve

ABSTRACT

A self-venting valve wherein a valve is interposed between an inlet and an outlet, a vent bypasses the valve and has a sealing means therein, the sealing means is adapted to open the vent allowing water to flow from the inlet to the outlet when the system operating pressure drops below a predetermined value.

' o Umted States Patent 1 91 [11] 3,752,177 Nordskog Aug. 14, 1973 [5 SELF VENTING VALVE 3,570,447 3/1971 Basseches et a! 137/216 x Inventor: Robert A. Nordskog, 18135 Karen 2,973,005 2/1961 DOlIlSOlI et a] 137/556 X D12, Tarzana, Calif. 91356 Primary Examiner-Henry T. Klinksiek [22] F'led: 1971 Attorney-Matthew P. Lynch [21] Appl. No.: 196,346

[57] ABSTRACT 2 .8. Cl. 37 6 v 1 a CL l I A self-venting valve wherein a valve is interposed be- 58] Field of SQQi-khQITII/Ti37m }16.1 216.2 twee" an inlet met, a vent bypasses the valve 137/217 and has a sealing means therein, the sealing means is adapted to open the vent allowing water to flow from 56] References and the inlet to the outlet when the system operating pres- UNITED STATES PATENTS sure drops below a predetermined value. 2,84'l;174 7/1958' Frye 137/599 X 11 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures IO 12 30 B i I V 8 I I I I I I 29 I l4 .1 9 3 I l I Patented Aug. 14, 1973 3,752,177

ROBERT A NOR DSKOG INVENTOR ATTORNEY SELF VENTING VALVE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A major probelm in all water systems is the hazard of damage to the system due to the freezing of the water within the system. This problem is present whenever the ambient temperature about the system approaches the freezing point of water, namely, 32 F. When a residence is involved, a solution can be effected rather easily, though expensively, by burying the pipes below ground so that the earth will act as an insulation from the cold and protecting that portion of the system above ground with heavy bulky insulating material; however, when the water system is installed in an aircraft or other moving vehicle some other solution must be found because of space and weight considerations. Obviously, when in a vehicle the entire water system is disposed within the confines of the vehicle and therefore as long as the engines of the vehicle are running the ambient temperature about the system can be controlled and freezing precluded; however, quite often the vehicle will be situated in an environment where the ambient temperature about and within the vehicle is below freezing and the engines are off. Under these conditions freezing of the water within the system is almost sure to occur, thereby causing the pipes to rupture due to the expansion of the water when it freezes within the closed system.

Obviously the solution to the entire problem would be to drain the water out of the system when it is expected that the ambient temperature will fall below freezing; however, quite often this is not practical, particularly with regard to airplanes, because of the unavailability of aircraft service technicians, the cost of having a mechanic drain the lines and the possibility that the temperature may be above freezing upon arrival and then drop below due to unexpected or unusual weather.

In order to solve this problem and compensate for any uncertainties, a number of automatic draining systems have been devised; however, they all depend upon the actual freezing of the water and its consequent expansion to open a valve and drain the water not already frozen. The fallacy of this type of system is obvious since a sudden quantitative drop in temperature will cause all the water in the system to freeze, thereby preventing any water from draining. Alternatively, if a small sample of material having a freezing point above water is substituted to open the drain valve, the sample may become contaminated with foreign materials which drops its freezing point below that of water or the very act of freezing may cause the valve or any moving part thereof to stick and malfunction, thereby preventing draining.

The present invention solves all of the aforementioned problems by providing a self-venting valve which automatically drains the water system when the engines of the vehicle are turned off or the water pressure drops below a predetermined value, thereby eliminating the possibility of the water freezing and damaging the system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A self-venting valve consisting of an inlet and an outlet interconnected by a channel having a valve and a vent bypassing the valve and communicating between the inlet and the channel. The vent having an orifice in communication with the channel and an enlarged bore intermediate its ends with a sphere disposed therein. During system operating pressures the sphere is held in sealing engagement with the portion of the orifice communicating with the channel; however, when system pressure is less than necessary for operation the sphere drops due to gravity, thereby opening the orifice and allowing the fluid in the system to drain through the vent into the channel and discharge through the outlet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the self-venting valve. FIG. 2 is a cutaway view along 2-2 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numbers designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown in FIG. 2 a self-venting valve 10 having a housing with a first end 12 and a second end 13. An inlet 14 is disposed in the first end 12 and an outlet 15 is disposed intermediatethe ends 12 and I3 and normal to the longitudinal axis of the housing 11, the inlet 14 and the outlet 15 are interconnected by a longitudinal channel 16 which terminates slightly beyond the outlet 15. An annular stepped cut out 17 is disposed within the end 13 and terminates intermediate the end 13 and the channel 16, the stepped portion of the cut out 17 is provided by an annular lip 18 which is integral to the housing 11 and extends outwardly towards the end 13 co-axial to the channel 16 and internally of a portion of the cut out 17. A guide way 19 having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the channel extends longitudinally through the housing 11 and interconnects the channel 16 with the cut out 17. A vent 20 having an orifice 21 in communication with the channel 16, a bore 22 having a diameter greater than the diameter of the orifice 21 and co-axial thereto extending from the orifice 21 through the side of the housing 11 at an angle to the longitudinal axis thereof and a vent way 24 having a diameter smaller than the bore 22 interconnecting the inlet 14 and the bore 22, is disposed within the housing 11 between the inlet 14 and the outlet 15. The end of the bore 22 which extends through the wall of the housing 11 is countersunk and threaded to accept a plug 23. The ventway 24 is disposed at an angle so that it interconnects the bore 22 of the vent 20 at a point below the point that it interconnects the inlet 14, thereby allowing water that may be in the inlet 14 to flow by gravity through the vent way 24 into the bore 22.

Extending through the cut out 17 of housing end 13, through the guide way 19 and the channel 16 into the inlet 14 is a shaft 25. One end of the shaft 25 extends outwardly of the end 13 and the opposite end terminates adjacent the inlet 14. A threaded hole is disposed in the end of the shaft 24 adjacent the inlet 14 and a seal 27 is secured to the end of the shaft 25 by a fastener 28 disposed in the hole so that-the seal 27 completely covers the inlet opening into the channel 16 and thereby prevents water in the inlet 14 from entering the channel 16. It will be noted from the drawings that while the seal 27 closes one end of the channel 16 it terminates short of the vent way 24 which remains unblocked by the seal 27.

Secured to the opposite end of the shaft 25, which extends through the end 13 of the housing 1 l is an operating button 29. The button 29 has a circumferentially depending side wall 30 which has a diameter slightly greater than the diameter of the housing 11 adjacent the end 13. Disposed about the shaft 25 and having one end in abutment with the internal face of the button 29 within the side wall 30 and its opposite end in abutment with the inner back wall of the cut out 17 and surrounding the annular lip 18 is a coil spring 31. The spring 31 is adapted to urge the button 29 away from the housing 11 and since the shaft 25 is secured to the button 29 it also is urged away from the housing. The force of the spring 31 urging the shaft 25 away from the housing 11 forces the seal 27 into sealing engagement with the inlet end of the channel 16, thereby preventing water entering the inlet 14 from seeping past the seal 27 into the channel 16. Disposed adjacent the inlet end of the channel 16 and extending slightly into the inlet 13 complmentary to the seal 27 is an annular ridge 32. The ridge 32 allows the seal 27 to maintain a fluid tight seal even if the sealing surface should have an irregularity or if foreign matter should become lodged between the seal 27 and the sealing surface.

While not necessary for the operation of the subject valve, a number of additional seals have been provided to prevent the possibility of water leaking past any of the moving surfaces. One such seal 33 is disposed in a groove about the circumference of the shaft 25, the seal 33 is positioned on the shaft at a point which is always within the guide way 19 and is intended to prevent the water within the channel 16 from leaking past the shaft 25 and out the cut out 17. Another seal 34, which is shown as an ring for the sake of illustration only, is located within the bore 22 of the vent 20 and is positioned adjacent the point where the orifice 21 interconnects with the bore 22.

Disposed within the bore 22 of the vent 20 between the seal 34 and the plug 23 and free to move therebetween is a spherical member 35. The member 35 in the preferred embodiment is a sphere having a diameter greater than the diameter of the orifice 21 and the guide way 24 of the vent 20 and smaller than the diameter of the bore 22 of the vent 20.

In operation, the inlet end 12 of the valve is connected to a source of water. The operating pressure of the water entering the inlet 14 helps to force the seal 27 into positive sealing engagement with its sealing surface and the annular ridge 32, thereby preventing the water from entering the channel 16. The water, however, is free to flow through the vent way 24 into the bore 22 of the vent 20, where the water engages the member 35 and the pressure of the water forces the member 35 up into sealing engagement with the seal 34, thereby closing off the orifice 21 and preventing the water from the inlet 14 from entering the orifice 21 and thence, the channel 16. At this point under system operating pressure, both the channel 16 and the vent are sealed and the water is contained. If it is desired to use the water the button 29 is pushed inwardly towards the housing 11 against the force of the spring 31. Since the shaft is connected to the button 29, it also moves inwardly sliding through the guideway 19 and causing the seal 27 to move into the inlet 14 away from sealing engagement with the sealing surface and the annular ridge 32, thereby allowing the water in the inlet 14 to pass directly into the channel 16 and out through the outlet 15. Upon releasing the button 29, the spring 31 causes the shaft 25 and thus the seal 27 to return to its sealing position. In the event that the system operating water pressure is decreased below a predetermined value the member 35, because of its specific gravity which is greater than water, returns to its rest osition in abutment to the plug 23, thereby opening the orifice 21. When the systems pressure is reduced below the predetermined value the water from the system is free to flow from the inlet 14 down through the vent way 24 into the bore 22; however, the water now entering the bore 22 has insufficient pressure to raise the member 35 and therefore, the water flows over the member 35 and into the orifice 21 and then into the channel 16 and out the outlet 15 until the system is drained.

By providing such a self-venting valve, the water within a vehicles system is automatically drained when the vehicles engines are shut off with its consequent decrease in system pressure. Such a self-venting valve makes it unnecesaary for an attendant to enter the vehicle and push the operating button until most of the water had been drained or for a mechanic to break into the system to drain it.

From a detailed consideration of this description, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this invention may be employed in a number of different ways through the use of routine skill in the field to which it pertains. For this reason, the present invention is not to be considered as being limited except by the appended claims defining the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A self-venting valve with an inlet and an outlet interconnected by a channel having a seal adapted to normally seal the channel from the inlet, the improvement comprising: 7

a vent interconnecting the inlet and the channel,

sealing means disposed in said vent and adapted to seal said vent in response to a predetermined water pressure and further adapted to allow water from the inlet to pass through the channel and out the outlet when the water pressure drops below the predetermined pressure.

2. A valve in accordance with claim 1, wherein said sealing means comprises a sphere.

3. A valve in accordance with claim 1, wherein said vent comprises:

an orifice in communication with the channel;

a vent way in communication with the inlet; and

a bore interconnecting said orifice and said vent way,

said bore having a diameter greater than said orifice and said vent way, said bore being adapted to retain said sealing means.

4. A valve in accordance with claim 3, wherein said vent way is disposed at an angle, communicting with said bore at a point below, its point of communication with the inlet.

5. A valve in accordance with claim 3, further comprising a seal within said bore adjacent said orifice.

6. A valve in accordance with claim 2, wherein said sphere has a specific gravity greater than water.

7. A valve in accordance with claim 2, wherein said sphere comprises a ball bearing.

8. In a self-venting valve having a housing with an inlet and an outlet and a channel interconnecting the inlet and the outlet, the improvement comprising:

a seal disposed in the housing and adapted to seal the inlet end of the channel;

6 means for releasing said seal, whereby water from the free into the channel when the water pressure drops inlet will pass through the channel an out the outbelow the predetermined value. 9. In a self-venting valve in accordance with claim 8, an orifice in Communication with the channel; wherein said sealing means comprises a sphere having a ventway in communication with the inlet bypassing 5 a specific gravity greater than water.

Sald seal; 10. In a self-venting valve in accordance with claim a bore interconnecting said orifice and said ventway,

said bore having a diameter greater than the diameof Said orifice and Said vemway; and bore ad acent and complementary to said orifice.

Sealing means disposed in said bore said sealing 11. In a self-venting valve in accordance with claim means adapted to seal said orifice in response to a 9 Where"! Sald vemway angles y from the channel predetermined water pressure at the inlet and to as said ventway approaches said bore. allow water from the inlet to flow through said ori- 9, further comprising a vent seal disposed within said 

1. A self-venting valve with an inlet and an outlet interconnected by a channel having a seal adapted to normally seal the channel from the inlet, the improvement comprising: a vent interconnecting the inlet and the channel, sealing means disposed in said vent and adapted to seal said vent in response to a predetermined water pressure and further adapted to allow water from the inlet to pass through the channel and out the outlet when the water pressure drops below the predetermined pressure.
 2. A valve in accordance with claim 1, wherein said sealing means comprises a sphere.
 3. A valve in accordance with claim 1, wherein said vent comprises: an orifice in communication with the channel; a vent way in communication with the inlet; and a bore interconnecting said orifice and said vent way, said bore having a diameter greater than said orifice and said vent way, said bore being adapted to retain said sealing means.
 4. A valve in accordance with claim 3, wherein said vent way is disposed at an angle, communicting with said bore at a point below its point of communication with the inlet.
 5. A valve in accordance with claim 3, further comprising a seal within said bore adjacent said orifice.
 6. A valve in accordance with claim 2, wherein said sphere has a specific gravity greater than water.
 7. A valve in accordance with claim 2, wherein said sphere comprises a ball bearing.
 8. In a self-venting valve having a housing with an inlet and an outlet and a channel interconnecting the inlet and the outlet, the improvement comprising: a seal disposed in the housing and adapted to seal the inlet end of the channel; means for releasing said seal, whereby water from the inlet will pass through the channel an out the outlet; an orifice in communication with the channel; a ventway in communication with the inlet bypassing said seal; a bore interconnecting said orifice and said ventway, said bore having a diameter greater than the diameter of said orifice and said ventway; and sealing means disposed in said bore, said sealing means adapted to seal said orifice in response to a predetermined water pressure at the inlet and to allow water from the inlet to flow through said orifice into the channel when the water pressure drops below the predetermined value.
 9. In a self-venting valve in accordance with claim 8, wherein said sealing means comprises a sphere having a specific gravity greater than water.
 10. In a self-venting valve in accordance with claim 9, further comprising a vent seal disposed within said bore adjacent and complementary to said orifice.
 11. In a self-venting valve in accordance with claim 8, wherein said ventway angles away from the channel as said ventway approaches said bore. 